Alcohol prices in Europe

Nice to see Italy, Spain, France towards the bottom.

In Spain, the wine/beer are cheaper then the water! lol

For those intrigued by Spanish beer (4th largest producer in Europe!), here's an interesting map of our most popular beers per region: Esta es la cerveza favorita de tu comunidad autónoma, según una nueva encuesta - La Vanguardia

This map has been making the rounds of our local news, especially since Cruzcampo (piss-water) beat out the far superior Alhambra for the top spot in Andalucia, much to Andalucia's dismay!

Weird , we found booze cheaper in Greece and more expensive in Czech ( mind you we were only in Prague which is expensive in general compared to how it used to be )

Brennivin is awesome, though.

It is definitely "animated", changing as you watch. When I first looked at it, Norway was highest, followed by Iceland, Ireland (!) and Finland. Then it shifter, to Iceland on top, then Norway, Ireland, and Finland.

What surprises me is that Irelandnis right upmthere with the Scandinavian countries that tax alcoholmheavily tomreduce consumption. Does Ireland have that policy as well?

Maybe one thing that is not apparent in the ranking is the cost of different types of alcohol, the local swill will be the cheapest, so wine in Greece, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal is very reasonable, especially for a house wine, but even decent bottles. Basic beer is cheap in Spain and Germany and Eastern Bloc countries, most of the Northern Countries are just expensive anyway, so it shows in Alcohol prices as well. In some of the "cheap" countries thpogh you might find that spirits are no bargain, and usually beer in a wine country, or vice versa is not as cheap.

Although I will disagree with beer prices at Oktoberfest, ~11 euro is somewhat reasonable considering that is for a liter and table service, basically the same for a decent beer in the US.

This map has been making the rounds of our local news, especially since Cruzcampo (piss-water) beat out the far superior Alhambra for the top spot in Andalucia, much to Andalucia's dismay

Oh dear! I can understand the dismay. I'm not a particular fan of mainstream Spanish beer but I do like Alhambra, particularly their Reserva. I can't believe it lost out to Cruzcampo but when you consider how popular Fosters is in the UK or Budweiser in the US then it's somewhat understandable.

@JC, yes the rest of Andalucia (especially Granada) are blaming those morons in Sevilla for such a travesty!

For those wondering, Cruzcampo has the reputation of being a particularly bad beer, even among mainstream Spanish beer, it currently has a 1.9 out of 10 on RateBeer.

Blockquote Nice to see Italy, Spain, France towards the bottom.

I remember going to a cafe in Paris and looking at their wine list. Prepared to be bottle-shocked by the prices, I was surprised to see a bottle of Cote du Rhone for only 20 Euro. So I figured it was probably French Two-Buck Chuck, but what the hell: 20 Euro isn't much to ask for a bottle of wine. Rolled the dice and came up a winner. It was FANTASTIC! This would have been an $80 wine at any upscale place in Seattle.

Also, beer was cheaper than water in Belgium. The genever wasn't much more expensive than the beer, either.

-- Mike Beebe

Up here in Scandinavia alcohol usually gets more expensive the further North you get. In Denmark we dont have a State monopoly on alcohol sales lige they do in Sweden and Norway, so alcohol bought in regular supermarkets are not eye wateringly expensive. Up in Norway it’s ridiculously expensive along with everything else.
Scandinavians who have the option have always ventured South to stock up on alcohol, Norwegians would cross the Swedish border, Swedes would go to Denmark and Danes down to Germany. For example just across the Danish/German border you have lots of border shops, where you can buy large volumes of cheaper alcohol (my personal record is a metrix tonne of beer). However recently the value of the Swedish Krone has been dropping a d suddenly you can find the Swedish State monopoly alcohol shops, Systembolaget, full of Danes shopping booze.

Here in Georgia, I can buy Cote du Rhone wine for about $12-13 per bottle. Wow 20 Euros in France?

We lived in Germany from 87-91 and it always amazed me that if you ordered mineral water it usually cost almost as much as a beer.

We were in Portugal in 2016 and then Norway shortly after than. A beer in Lisbon was less than 1 Euro. A beer in Bergen, Norway was 8 Euros.

One peculiarity across the EU arises because the taxation of spirits and beer (whatever the rates set in a particular country) is based on the alcohol content, whilst taxation of wine and cider is based just on the volume of liquid.

Here in Georgia, I can buy Cote du Rhone wine for about $12-13 per bottle. Wow 20 Euros in France?

Well, also not broken out in the comparison is whether prices are retail store, Bar service, or Restaurant service. The bottle of Cotes du Rhone in a supermarket in Paris probably runs under 10 euro. In Georgia if you found that bottle in a restaurant it would be at least the $40+ range.

Interesting article, but it begs the question of if one knows the country's alcohol is expensive, will one not purchase? Highly doubtful. I happily paid almost $20 for beer at a Brad Paisley concert. Paying outrageous, or cheap, prices for alcohol is part of travel.

Interesting article, but it begs the question of if one knows the country's alcohol is expensive, will one not purchase?

The answer is no, one will still purchase, but quantity and quality might be affected. Example, if I like a glass of wine with dinner and wine is an expensive option, I might look at the lower end of the price range and have a glass. If there are lots of high quality wines at reasonable prices, then you might choose an interesting bottle. Basically, everyone has a cost threshold, if that gets you a glass, great, if it gets you a good bottle, better.

In my situation, I like different beers, so cost might mean I sample several vs just having a pint, or I go to the grocery store and collect bottles.